Re-Translations of Philosophical and Scientific Texts into Hebrew in the Middle Ages: A Preliminary Survey

Recent research on the development of scientific and philosophical terminology in medieval Hebrew carried out in the project “PESHAT in Context” has brought to full attention the existence of numerous examples of “re-translations” into Hebrew. Starting with works like the Sefer ha-Kuzari or Sefer Moreh ha-Nevukhim, and ending with scientific texts on mathematics and medicine, existing translations were often revised, either by the translators themselves or by later authors, in order to correct them with or without the help of the original version, and to adjust them to new criteria of scientific style and/or terminology. A careful analysis of the existing versions is indispensable for the proper understanding not only of the vocabulary and style of a specific author/translator but also in order to shed light on the reception history of the texts and on the development of the usage of Hebrew as a language of philosophy and science in the middle Ages. This session aims at giving a general survey of the existing re-translations and the methods applied by their authors.